the games we play
by hiddenspikes
Summary: Five years after who's crying now, Damon and Elena are trying to fix their tattered relationship, but with jealous bosses and haunting memories of the past will they be able to make their way back to each other or will they be stuck playing another game?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/n-Hello my dearies, welcome to the SEQUEL of Who's crying now- since I've already gotten a comment on it, I will stress that this will be a DELENA story I just have to build up to it, christ. so I've gotten mixed reviews concerning the last chapter of Who's Crying Now and while I knew that I would there was one of them that really bugged me and because of it I feel like I have to address it here. Side Effects on a drug will vary from person to person- taking a pill that has nausea as a side effect is more likely to cause said side effect if there is nothing in the stomach when the pill is taken and also if that person is already stressed/panicking/having major anxiety will more than likely lead to increased nausea (blame it on working in a medical clinic that I randomly know that). Anyways, this story is going to an interesting one, though I will promise a happy ending when everything is finally said and done. Okay I'm done ranting, until next time, happy reading.**_

_**The Games We Play**_

_**Chapter 1- Elena**_

I never thought that I would truly get over what happened between Damon and I , but five years later, a whole country away from Mystic Falls and a lot of trust issues later and I felt like things were starting to get better, like I was going to be okay. I groaned softly as I walked into the small apartment that I was sharing with my other half Kol Mikalson, letting my bag fall from my shoulder and hit the ground. We had only been in Nevada for a few weeks and already the heat and the atmosphere were starting to get to me. Swearing softly I toed off my shoes, letting out a little sigh of relief when my bare feet were free of the death contraptions known as high heels.

"Lena is that you?" I winced slightly as he called out the nickname that I loathed- it had been Damon's nickname and yet no matter how many times that I had told him that I never wanted to hear it again he insisted on calling me by it.

"Yeah its me," I called back, all the while wondering who he thought it was that could have walked through the door. He was sitting at the dining room table when I walked into the kitchen, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose as he looked down at the bills scattered across the table.

"Any luck?" He questioned, tucking the pen from his hand behind his head. I shook my head as I padded over to him, dropping a kiss to his forehead.

"Nope." I had been looking for a job from the moment that Kol and I had stepped off of the plan at McCarran international but hadn't had any luck finding a job, well not a decent one anyways. Kol frowned as he pushed back his chair, the corners next to his eyes crinkling slightly.

"The time for being picky is over Elena." He snapped at me, causing me to flinch, I hated when he was angry.

"I know that I just don't think working a freaking pole is my only option." Shrugging my shoulders I slid onto his lap, my bottom lip between my teeth, "I'll try the college tomorrow, maybe they have a work study program or something." NLVU hadn't been my first school of choice when it came to college, but when I was offered a full ride scholarship I couldn't exactly bring myself to say no- I had promised my mother that I would pursue a career in journalism before she died and now I felt like I had to go through with it. Kol rolled his eyes, his arms settling around my waist as I leaned back into him.

"I'll give you until the end of the week." I smiled at him, pressed a kiss to his cheek and climbed off his lap.

"Thank you, babe." And then I was talking towards the back of the apartment where our room was. I didn't love Kol had no feelings for him past friendship really- but in my senior year of high school when it came down to it, Kol was all I had, I didn't trust anyone else with my heart and I knew from experience that I could trust him. It only seemed like the logical next step that him and I would end up together- so when we started dating and sex came up, I found that I couldn't bring myself to say no. Swallowing I flopped back onto our bed and pushed my fingers back through my hair- that had been three years ago and I hadn't been happy a day since, but part of me felt like Kol would be it- like I could never have anyone better, or better yet, that I would never have anyone else period. Shifting slightly on the bed I looked over towards the clock on the nightstand- 4:30 in the afternoon and I was already exhausted, not that there was much to be done with it- my first class started in an hour and I still had to drive the twenty minutes to the school. Letting out a slow breath I rolled over before pushing myself up, telling myself that I couldn't miss my first day of class no matter how tired I was. When I walked back into the Kitchen, Kol was gone, the table cleared of the bills and no sign that he had ever been there, which was perfectly fine by me, it meant that there was less of a chance of him getting angry that I was leaving for school. And that was the thing, at first things with Kol were okay, even though I wasn't happy I was content, he was a good friend of mine and I figured with time I could learn to love him- but then his true colors came out and it felt like no matter what I did I could never please him, I always was doing something that made him upset or angry, Picking up my purse from where I left it in the hallway I pulled it onto my shoulder and walked out the front door, making sure to close it behind me.

The drive to the campus went a lot quicker than I thought it would but I figured that it would still give me a chance to get to my class a little early and not stress about walking into a room already full of students. The door was open when I got there, the room empty save for one person at the front of the classroom, bent over the professor's desk. I chewed on my bottom lip as I looked him over, my head cocked to the side- as far as I was concerned I could look I just couldn't touch. He was tall with shaggy black hair, well built from what I could tell through the button down shirt and jeans and had an ass that I could drool over. Sighing softly I decided that it might be best if I let him know that I was there before he turned around and caught my ogling him. If my professor was this attractive maybe a three hour class twice a week wouldn't be all that horrible.

"Is this introduction to Journalism?" I questioned softly, knocking on the door frame. The man at the desk tensed up, his shoulders drawn together. Chewing a little harder on my bottom lip I wondered what the hell his problem was, did he not like people talking to him and if that was the case then why the hell was he a teacher- but then he turned around and my heart stopped as I met a pair of baby blue eyes that I hadn't seen in three years.

"Hey Elena," My heart stuttered as he gave me that boyish smile of his, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the next as he stared at me. I let out a slow breath resisting the urge to bolt no matter how much I wanted too, I was older, I was wiser and I wouldn't let him do that to me, and yet I still found myself breathless as his name slipped past my lips.

"_Damon_..."


	2. Chapter 2

A/n-hey all! welcome to chapter 2 of the games we play. As a reminder this is a sequel to Who's Crying Now, and that should be read first. As always thank you to everyone that reviewed, favorited, followed and just plain read the story, the mean the world to me. I do have one thing to say, if you are going to criticize my writing, at least give me constructive criticism not tell me that you're anti-kolena and that my back-story makes you want to vomit- if you don't like it don't read it: as far as I'm concerned a back story is a back story and I haven't given you anything explicit where Kol and Elena are concerned and I'm not going to- this is a DELENA story, that's all I write in TVD universe and that's all I will write. Okay rant over, sorry that its so long- the next chapter for this story should be up sometime tomorrow (hopefully) so that's always a plus. The question is would you guys rather prefer longer chapters that aren't updated as frequently or shorter chapters that are updated _almost _every day. Okay until next time, happy reading. 

The Games We Play

Chapter 2- Damon

I moved away from Mystic Falls the day that I graduated high school- didn't tell anyone where I was going just packed up a bag and went. For months I had stayed silent, had wondered how I could have possibly gone as wrong with Elena as I did and better yet how I could fix it, but then I remembered her words and as much as I wanted to fight it, those words kept repeating in my head.

_Pretend that I died, because as far as I'm concerned, Damon, you're gone to me._

Even to this day those words haunted me. I had lost my best friend, the woman that I love and one of the few people that I trusted all in over one stupid mistake- I had had such a lack of confidence in myself that I had pushed her away, thought that I wasn't good enough and had left her when she needed me most. And so I left, I had nothing in Mystic Falls holding me back, nothing there that was worth staying for if I didn't have her. For the first two years I traveled from one state to the next, not really caring where I ended up, at times even sleeping in my car when I needed I ended up in California, on the coast at the beach and it was there that I met Sage.

Sage was trouble and I knew it from the moment that I met her, I had no doubt in my mind that if I let her she would turn my whole world upside down and I at the time had no reason not to let her. She was a professor from UNLV, in California on summer vacation for three weeks. After the first night that I met her, I found myself spending every waking moment with her. Sage quickly became my best friend, a confidant that shaped my personality that helped me to grow as a man, to realize who I was as a person, and to change who I didn't want to be. She showed me about the pleasures of life, she showed me how to have fun, to let go and to not worry quite so much, but most of all she taught me to have confidence in myself- to know that any person would be damned lucky to have. She was someone that I found myself connecting with, and yet always in the back of my head was Elena- it would always be Elena and I knew that. I figured that eventually I would end up in Mystic Falls again, that I would see her again but I never thought that it would be as soon as it was.

When Sage went back to Vegas she asked me to go with her and for some reason I figured why the hell not- it was the best decision that I had ever made, and not because I had gone with Sage but because it lead me back to I first arrived in Vegas I wasn't sure what I was going to do job wise, but Sage provided the solution, taking me on as her TA for her intro to journalism course and other writing classes.

Of course, when it came to finding a place to live, she automatically took over that one as well, insisting that I move into her apartment with her- I should have taken that as the warning that it was, but for the moment I was content and couldn't really bring myself to care. The first day of classes Sage wasn't feeling all too great, had been complaining of a headache when we walked into the classroom, her fingers repeatedly pushing back through fiery red curls.

"I'm going to get a coffee." She finally groaned, tossing her briefcase onto the chair behind her desk, "Do me a favor, pull out the syllabus and hook up my laptop for me while I'm gone." And then she was walking out of her room, leaving the door wide open behind her. I rolled my eyes as I bent over the desk because my lazy ass didn't want to walk around it, reaching for the case only to hear a knock on the door.

"Is this introduction to Journalism?" I froze mid-reach as I heard a voice that I would recognize no matter how many years had passed and no matter where I was. I squeezed my eyes shut, my whole body tensing as I tried not to think about it- my mind was probably playing tricks on me, I probably had just lost it and really she wasn't there, but then I sat up and turned around and she was standing in my doorway and everything stopped. She had lost weight since I had last seen her, looked a fragment of the girl that I knew and loved, but without a doubt it was my Elena and that was enough to make me want to ignore everything else.

"Hey Elena." I murmured as the corners of my lips curled up into a smile that was beyond my control. She probably never wanted to see me again but that didn't mean that it hadn't made my whole year perfect just by the fact that she had just walked into my classroom. I shifted to my other foot, leaning back against the desk as she stared at me with these extremely wide eyes.

"Damon..."She finally breathed out, and just the sound of her voice saying my name sent shivers down my spine- yeah I definitely wasn't over her yet. "What are you doing- I mean...uh... hi." I chuckled softly as she stuttered over her words looking like she wanted to bolt. "Are you the teacher here?" She finally blurted out after her and I had this quasi-staring contest, neither of us really able to look away from the other. I shrugged slightly before shaking my head.

"No, actually I'm the TA, Sage is gonna be your teacher." I watched her face as intently as I could while I said another woman's name in hopes that i could see some form of jealousy from her but her lips barely twitched and I found myself wondering if she had been just as miserable as I was.

"Sage?" She questioned softly chewing on a bottom lip that I found myself wanting to bite at. I hadn't seen her in years and still I wanted her as much as I had the first time. Thankfully I was saved from a very awkward explanation by Sage walking into the classroom, two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Hey I got one for you too." She smiled as she handed me one of the white Styrofoam cups and only then, as Sage ignored Elena in favor of hopping up on the desk next to where I was leaning, did I see emotion cross Elena's face- anger blossoming in her eyes. "Who's this?" She asked as she took a quick sip of the steaming hot liquid. I looked down at my own cup in favor of not answering as Elena cleared her throat.

"Elena Gilbert." I leaned back slightly wanting to watch how the two would interact- there wasn't really anything between Sage and I except for the random drunken hook ups but for her to meet the woman who owned my heart and always would, was proving to be an interesting situation. Sage knew about Elena, there was no way that she couldn't with all the alcohol induced talks that we had had, so the second that the name registered with her I could tell that there were going to be problems. Sage smiled as she cocked her head to the side. "I'm - well I was, an old friend of Damon's."

"Not _**the **_Elena." She quipped with mock horror, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned forward slightly, "Oh Damon's told me _**all **_about you." Elena's head cocked to the side as Sage talked, that damned bottom lip of hers between her teeth again. I wanted to suck on it.

"You and Damon are close?" It came out meekly sounding a little more like the Elena of my youth. Sage laughed her hand reaching over to settle on my thigh.

"Oh we're _very _close." And then she winked at me and I watched Elena's temper flare up, could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears. I growled softly this was not going the way that I wanted it too at all. She huffed out a slow breath, her eyes narrowing into a glare as she stared at Sage, yeah, this was definitely not the way that I wanted things to be going and from the way that those two were looking at each other it was about to get a hell of a lot worse.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n- Hello my dearies! So from what I was told in the reviews that I got was shorter chapters if it meant it was updated sooner so that's what I am going to do- all chapters will at least be 1000 words cause anything less than that just won't cut it for me but I will aim for 2000 most days. Anyways so thank you to everyone that read, reviewed, followed and favorited, they mean the world to me and help to inspire the review whore that is my muse. Kol and Sage are going to be the bane of everyone's existence by the time that I am done with this story cause let's face it- this is an angst story and has been from day one, that being said though, there is still a happy ending in store for them and things will be different this time around cause they are older and have more experience. Okay if there are any questions please feel free to ask, I would be happy to answer them so long as they don't spoil the plot. Done talking now and until next time, happy reading.**

**The Games We Play**

**Chapter 3- Elena**

I never would have considered myself a jealous person the whole time that I've been growing up. My whole outlook on that changed the moment that that bitch stuck her hand on Damon's thigh. I couldn't say what it was but from the moment that the tall lanky red-head had walked into the room I didn't like her- part of me wondered if it was because of the feelings that I had for Damon (the ones that I was still trying to deny even after five years) or better yet if it was the possessive way that she looked at him, like she would kill anyone that threatened to come between the two of them. Damon's eyes widened the second that her hand settled down on his thigh and yet he did nothing to stop her as the cheeky little cunt winked at him. Silently I fumed, I wanted to kill her, I really did.

"Oh we're very close." She stressed the word very and I swore to myself feeling sick to my stomach and furious all in the same breath- I wanted to rip her hand off of him then teach her that Damon was **_mine_** and that nobody had a right to touch him like that. I shook my head instead letting out a slow breath, it wouldn't do at all for me to act that way around Damon and what I was assuming was his girlfriend. I hadn't seen him in years, who was I to be claiming him like that? I just needed to get out of there so I could get my thoughts straight so I did the only thing I could think to do- I made my excuses and bolted.

"I should probably go get some coffee myself so I don't nod off in class. " Damon cocked an eyebrow as I quickly spit out the excuse, needing to get out of there before I did something desperate- I needed to think and I wasn't going to be able to do that with the person that I needed to think about standing directly in front of me. Fishing my phone out of my pocket I glanced down at the numbers to make sure that I had the time to get down to the student quad and back before class started, then made a hasty retreat out the door. Damn it, there I was running- again... I was older and wise, supposed to be more confident and sure of myself, I was over all the high school bullshit I shouldn't be running anymore, and yet I found that I was still going too.

When I got down the hall I stopped, turning to rest my back against the wall and breathe, my mind racing a mile a minute. I closed my eyes as I let out a slow breath, trying to get everything together, damn it, it wasn't supposed to be like this anymore, I was a woman I wasn't a teenager anymore. Knocking my head back against the wall, I silently swore- why was I getting jealous that Damon moved on, it wasn't like I had asked him to wait for me- quite the opposite, I had told him to move on.

'_But you didn't want to do that,_" reminded that nagging little voice in the back of my head, "_even now you still love him- who are you trying to kid, you never stopped loving him, never stopped wanting him...fates giving you a second chance, take it for Christ's sake!"_ I shook my head as I reminded myself that I was with Kol, but even as I reminded myself that my heart screamed at me, "_you don't love him._" I felt conflicted, felt like I should drop the class, that I should be telling Kol that Damon was here, that I had run into him, should tell hum exactly what was on my mind but then everything stopped and I found myself letting out a slow breath before shaking my head and deciding to hell with it- I wasn't going to do this, not again- I wasn't going to put myself through this again. Pushing myself away from the wall I turned to look for the stairs to get back down to the main floor where the quad was located only to run smack into Damon, who was out of breath and flustered looking.

"Sorr-" I started to apologize but the words died on my lips when his arms came up around my waist as he braced me to keep both of us from toppling over, my hands resting against him chest.  
>"Why'd you take off?" He questioned softly, having yet to have released my waist, if anything it felt like his arms were tightening around me and I didn't want to think about just how good it felt to be in his arms once more- something I never thought I would feel again.<p>

"Shouldn't you be getting back to your girlfriend?" I countered, not sure that I wanted to her his response, but then Damon was laughing and pulling back a little until he could look at me completely.

"Sage isn't my girlfriend," He corrected, reaching up to push my hair back in a move that made my heart ache. There was so much of him there and so many memories going through my head that I felt like I could scream with it until what he had said actually dawned on me.

Sage wasn't his girlfriend.

_Sage_ wasn't his _**Girlfriend**_!

I swallowed as I looked up at him, my breathing coming ragged- and then I did something that was completely stupid. Before I could tell myself no, I had surged up onto my feet and pressed my lips into his, catching his mouth in a rough kiss that he returned with just as much force. It was like the two of us hadn't spent five years apart; not talking and pretending like the other didn't exist as he parted my lips with his own. His hand came up to settle on the back of my neck, to draw me closer as he explored my mouth, drawing sounds from me that Kol never could- and just like that I froze, tearing my lips away from Damon, my hand flying up to cover my mouth. It didn't matter that Sage wasn't Damon's girlfriend, because I had a boyfriend- and I had just kissed another man. My stomach rolled as that thought pushed itself over and over again through my head- I had just cheated on Kol and the thing that worried me even more, that made me feel even guiltier then I had been-_** I didn't care.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n- Hello my dearies! Happy Monday (Not really) so this chapter was a ton of fun to write, well for me anyways cause I like to see the progression of how the characters have grown and are still growing and I think this one helps to give a little bit more of a look into how Damon is now as opposed to how he was way back when. Anyways! As always thank you to everyone that read, reviewed, followed, and favorited- the review whore (my muse) appreciates it! I'm hoping to be able to get another chapter churned out today and if not at least be able to get the one shot that I came up over the weekend down with instead. Okay I'm done talking now- until next time, happy reading.**

**The games we play**

**Chapter 4- Damon**

There was nothing quite like sitting there, watching Elena shift nervously from foot to foot, wringing her hands in a way that I was positive that she wasn't conscious of. Finally she looked at me, her eyes a little wide and I could tell from the look in them that she was going to bolt...  
>Shit.<p>

"I should probably go...get some coffee myself...so I don't nod off in class." I cocked an eyebrow at her as she fumbled in her pocket, dug out a cell phone from her pocket and muttered something looking down at the screen. She glanced up at me before she turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving me to wonder what the hell was going on. Sage burst into laughter the second that Elena was gone from sight, her cup of coffee set down next to her so she could clutch her stomach as peals of laughter poured from her cherry red lips. I glared at her, hopping down off of the desk.

"Really?" I snarled folding my arms across my chest. Sage swiped at her eyes as she tried to get her giggles under control.

"What?" She questioned sounding affronted that I was even questioning her, "I can't help it if your girl doesn't have a backbone," She rolled her eyes as she rested back, her tongue swiping across her bottom lip, "She looked like she wanted to kill me for touching you and yet she was too much of a pussy to do anything about it." Sage rolled her eyes again and slid off of the table, her fingers pushing back through her bright red curls, "You two were giving each other sex eyes when I walked in here and I wanted to see if she would do anything about it, not my fault that she didn't." I growled and boxed Sage in, my arms on either side of her.

"You practically claimed me." I spat as I glared at her, "Why the hell would you do that." Sage rolled her eyes once more and I had never ever wanted to hit a girl in my life but she was sorely testing my patience.

"You know." She began, completely un-phased by my anger, her fingers sliding down my chest as she cocked her head to the side, "Instead of bitching to me about your lack of balls why don't you actually go after her!" She smirked before cocking an eyebrow at me as I swore softly to myself. Damn it she was right. I pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking out of the door to the classroom. I stood in the hallway for a few minutes, looking left then right unsure of which way she could have gone cause for all of her bullshit about needing coffee to stay awake through the class I doubted that that's where she was actually going. Swearing softly I decided to try the direction of the quad anyways, hopefully she had at least started that direction. I was half way down the hallway, almost to the stairs when I ran into her, literally.

"Sor-"She started to apologize, but stopped midsentence when my arms went around her to keep the two of us from tumbling to the floor. I swallowed, the feeling of her being in my arms again feeling so much like coming home.

"Why did you take off?" I found myself questioning though I wasn't all too sure that I wanted to hear the answer to it. She was silent for a while, probably wondering why I hadn't released her, I wasn't ready to release her yet- I finally had her in my arms again, I didn't want to let her out of them yet.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to your girlfriend?" She finally questioned, her head cocked to the side and I found that I couldn't help it, I started to laugh. Sage wasn't my girlfriend and she never would be my girlfriend. Sage and I had a strange case, she didn't love me, she loved a man named Finn who had gone missing years earlier- I was just a replacement for the physical side of things, and even then it wasn't something that happened often, she was a mentor to me, more like family then anything- she had helped me to grow and had picked me up when I needed it the most, but to think of her as my girlfriend was amusing and I couldn't help but laugh. I pulled back to look at Elena, her face drawn together like she was offended that I was laughing but I couldn't exactly help it.

"Sage isn't my girlfriend." I corrected, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear, anything that I could use as an excuse to keep touching her. Elena got the dumbfounded look on her face, her eyebrows drawing together while she though. And then it was like the light clicked on and everything that I said had registered. I opened my mouth to make a smart ass comment about the look that she was giving me, but then her lips were settling over mine in a rough kiss and all thoughts except the taste of her flew out of my head. My fingers curled over the back of her neck as I drew her closer to my body, tongue exploring her mouth as I memorized the woman that I had been missing for more years then I could stand. Elena mewled softly against my lips, a sound that I wasn't even sure that she knew that she was making. All too soon though she pulled away from me, a look of horror crossing her features. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as she stepped away from me, her eyes growing wide. "Elena?" I questioned reaching for her even as she stepped further back.

"Oh god, Kol." She whimpered past her fingers, the look of horror only managing to grow. I never thought I could hate a name as much as I did in that moment. Kol was the bane of my existence, a person that I hated more than I could ever hate even my father and even to just hear his name set my blood boiling.

"Kol?" I snarled, letting her pull herself completely away from me. I knew what she was going to say before she even said it, I knew it without a shadow of a doubt, but that didn't make the statement even less of a sucker punch to the stomach, didn't make me want to vomit any less with the thought of him touching her.

"My boyfriend." She gasped out, shaking her head, "I just cheated on my boyfriend." I understood the horror, I really did but all I could really think at that moment was out of all the people that she had to go too after everything, it just had to be him, just had to be the one person that I despised the most.

"Why him?" I found myself questioning before I could really help it, "Of all people why did it have to be him." Elena went from looking like she was panic to angry all in a matter of seconds, her lips settling into a thin line.

"Excuse me?" She snapped, folding her arms across her chest, "What exactly is that supposed to mean?" I knew that I was sticking my foot in my mouth, knew that I was about to make things a hell of a lot worse but I couldn't help the word vomit that was pouring out.

"Of all the people that you could have picked to end up with after everything between us you just had to go to him didn't you." I snapped back, suddenly defensive myself, "You just had to pick the person that I hated most didn't you." Elena rolled her eyes, almost seeming to grow a back bone in front of me.

"Not that it's any of your damn business but Kol has been there for me, I trust him." She snapped, jutting out her jaw as she glared at me. "Not to mention Damon, you're the one that left first." I flinched back like she had slapped me, that was the last thing that I expected to be flung in my face but at the same time she had a point, I had left first, I had left after our night together that still haunted me- I had had everything that I could have ever wanted in that moment and I was stupid enough to throw it all away because I was insecure. Elena looked like she was going to bolt again and so I asked a question that I wasn't even sure that I wanted to know the answer too.

"Do you love him?" Elena froze, her eyes widening almost comically and I could tell from the look that crossed her features that she didn't, that there was something keeping her with him but it wasn't love.

"That's none of your business." She finally spat after several moments of silence, a firm indication that no she didn't love him. I smirked as I told her that.

"I'll take that as a no," I finally snarked even though I knew that it was probably digging the hole that I was in with her that much deeper, "Are you even happy with him?" She opened her mouth to answer, probably to deny my earlier statement but before she could I invaded her personal space so that I could whisper in her ear- wanted her to feel every word that I was saying down to her core, "Cause even though it was short, when you were with me, you were happy, think about that Elena." And then I was pulling away and walking in the direction of the classroom again- let her chase after me for once.

Class had already started when I got back to the room, Sage at the front droning on and on about research assignments when I walked in. She paused briefly, mid-sentence, and cocked her head to the side as I walked in. I waved her off and made my way towards one of the back corner desks where I could take notes for her, determined not to think about the altercation in the hall. If Elena wanted to chase after me then that was up to her, the ball was in her court, but I was done chasing after a women that didn't want me, I wasn't going to play those games anymore.


End file.
